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Gold medals and future plans

Paul Goodison talks about life as an icon

A Gold Medal is the ultimate accolade for any sailor and surely means the world to anyone who manages to win one. If there is one sailor it might mean more to than most this year, that sailor would be Paul Goodison. After years of trying and a disappointment in Athens, where he came fourth - arguably the most disappointing place at an Olympics - this year he finally achieved his goal and won a Gold in the waters off Qingdao.
Goodison is clearly a very happy man with his Gold and even after some time back in the UK coming to terms with the result he still lights up when talking about it. As is the case with many top sailors, though, off the water he is very humble about the experience and says since he has returned from China many people have spoken of their happiness at his win – and he feels privileged to have represented such a number of people.
Goodison put a great deal of pressure on himself going into the Olympic regatta to achieve his ultimate goal. “After trying to go to Sydney and bloody Ben [Ainslie] being in the way and then coming close in Athens but ending up fourth, this time round it was not even about getting a medal but about getting the Gold Medal that I wanted,” he explains. The Brit goes on to talk about the amount of pressure he put on himself going into the Olympics. He says that he stated several times before going to China that this time round it would be judgement time. “I probably regretted having said that on day two of the Olympics” – Goodison humbly admits. He had a fairly slow start to the event, getting two 15ths in the first three

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